Lord & Taylor window
NY Public Library
Inside front door of Macy’s overhead
Shopping at Uniqlo!!!
Bloomingdale’s window
Bloomingdale window
Bloomingdale window
Cartier
Cartier
Bergdorf Goodman window
Bergdorf window
Bergdorf window
Helmsley Building
Den went to the office for the last time and was honored with a little celebration. I walked to the library and returned our last books. Then I strolled to Financier and bought macaroons and bagels at Tal’s. It was the last walk past Periwater and ZeZe, exquisite florists on our block. It was time to finish packing and take down our colorful bulletin board walls.
Our subway on Lex and 52nd
Late afternoon we took the subway from our usual stop on Lexington to 81st, the Natural History Museum stop. This is one of our favorite stops due to the exquisite animal murals. 
We walked over to The Yarn Company on Broadway, a great little shop up a long steep flight of stairs that I have enjoyed often.
We then walked down Broadway to Winter’s Eve, the Upper West Side’s annual holiday festival. As we strolled around Lincoln Center Plaza and enjoyed the lights, we remembered dinner at Lincoln, the Met Opera, and the Philharmonic. 
The tree lighting ceremony began and as the hundreds of white lights were switched on, Arlo Guthrie sang “This Land is Your Land.” With the tree aglow and the crowd singing along, it was just the best of New York City.
We have seen so much here and done so very many things. It has been an incredible opportunity for us. We don’t think we could ever do this again as we would always be comparing it to our three perfect months here.
We took one last stroll down our block to the East River and bid farewell to the Queensboro Bridge and Manhattan. WE LOVE YOU, NEW YORK!!!!
It’s our last few days of the best time of our lives!
A few weeks ago, Den entered a raffle at an NMSS benefit party, and he won a complimentary night at the Bowery Hotel plus dinner. The last day of November was our chosen date for this memorable event.
We first took the subway, as usual, to Union Square to do some holiday shopping, as this had been reputed to be the best Christmas market in the city. It was super-crowded and really painful. We enjoyed walking about the north end of the square by the statue of Lincoln plus visiting the fresh food green market. 
We truly wanted to buy a sweet wreath made from princess pine, unlike anything we have in Denver, but had no room. We enjoyed some hot cider on this brisk day.
We headed east towards the Alphabet City area, an up and coming part of NYC that is just starting to become gentrified.
We stopped at Obscura on 13th & A. 
This is a store devoted to death and is owned by the sister of Seth Gopin, our fabulous leader for the architectural tour we took earlier with Gail Fisher. The shop was just as weird as we had expected, even though it is featured on national tv. The area south of here around 9th and A or 1st was particularly cute with antique shops and boutiques.
We arrived at the Bowery Hotel about 5 pm. It is one of the “in” places in NYC now. Cost of a room is usually about $400 per night. Our lovely room was small and furnished with exquisite linens and furnishings. The window looked out onto a brick building with signage for “rooms for one, baths.” It reminded us that we were in a very old part of the city.
We had a beer in the cozy bar which is actually a large living room with a wood-burning fireplace. 
We looked around at all the young people gathered in small groups chatting and laughing and relaxing. What a lovely place for a Saturday night!
We went into the next room for dinner, Gemma, an Italian restaurant and had saltimbocca. For dessert we had affogato, one of our NY discoveries. As we were finishing dinner, we looked out the window and saw Judy and Gary Givens, friends from Denver, walking by. They joined us briefly and then we walked with them a couple of blocks to Susan (daughter) and Chris’s apartment at Bowery & Houston. This was a chance to see our first apartment besides our own. They have two bedrooms and rent is $7000/mo! It was a pleasure to walk back to the hotel and climb into a fabulous firm bed with fine Egyptian cotton sheets.
On Sunday we met the Givens for brunch at Lafayette and then parted ways. We walked around the lower east side and it felt very familiar, just like we live here….we do! 
Along the way we saw well-known art murals and laughed at the hotel sign below.
We took the subway to midtown to see the holiday windows. 
Macy’s was disappointing but the adorable old-fashioned windows at Lord & Taylor were wonderful.
It was two short blocks to the NY Public Library where we admired the tree in the Astor Lobby and bid a fond farewell to one of our favorite places.
We shopped the Bryant Park market for soaps and candles. It is a festive place at the holidays with a long line to go skating on the city’s only free ice rink.
We walked along 42nd and approached the Chrysler Building, our beacon for going home. On this beautiful day we could not resist another photo of our favorite landmark.
Close by is the Helmsley Building which is styled much like the Chrysler Building and is just north of Grand Central. It was elegantly decorated for the holidays.
Arrived home for a pasta dinner and the Bronco game. We walked over 14,500 steps today, 6 miles!
The night before Thanksgiving the balloons are inflated for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We planned to go to the Upper West Side for this event just west of Central Park. We had been told that the crowds are strictly controlled, and to get into the actual area you need a party invitation for a specific location within the balloon area. We trudged in freezing cold and sleeting rain and were ready to turn back a few blocks from the Natural History Museum, but we finally made it just after our umbrella flipped inside out.
As we approached 77th St. the police tired to turn us away but we showed them our computer-generated invitation to “Brandon and Michael’s Pre-Turkey Day party” at 35 W. 77th and they let us through. We were able to get close to action. The balloons were enormous!! They were already partially inflated and were covered with strong netting as well as tied down with ropes and sandbags. 
Many handlers were working on each balloon, and gigantic helium trucks were filling them. The crowds were festive and everyone had a great sense of anticipation for the next day, but all were also worried that weather might preclude the parade.
We took the subway home from the museum stop and were wishing we had taken it up there. 
Even after our miserable walk to the event we were so glad we had gone.
Next day we awakened to sunshine and the parade was on. We walked up to 52nd & 6th Ave. to view the parade. The balloons were allowed to fly but had to be kept lower than usual and were still 4-5 stories above us. 
The large bands were terrific. However, it was extraordinarily cold and we could only stay about two hours. On the way home we had to stop into a boulongerie to get warm. We got home and watched the rest of the parade on tv……it was definitely the best parade we have ever seen.
Later in the day we ventured out again into the frigid cold. We decided that this was a reminder why we do not want to be in NYC in the winter, and the weather made thoughts of going home to Denver a bit easier to swallow. Our entire three months had been warm and sunny almost every day and this was really our first taste of the bitter cold.
We took the E subway to almost the last stop in Queens and Lisa and Ross (Lisa is Den’s boss) picked us up in their car. It was our second car ride in three months. We drove to their home in Hollis Hills. In the front yard was a huge stump that was left from Hurricane Sandy the year before. They had a huge family gathering including their sons, Landon and Tyler, and close relatives. We talked to an aunt who had been at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and she recounted her horrific experience. The tv blared football games, little kids were running around, and their dog was enjoying the attention. It was a happy celebration of both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah with abundant foods for each. We finally left for the subway home bout 8:30 and arrived home full and tired and amazed at our memorable day. We will never have a Thanksgiving Day like this one!
The New York Botanic Garden has been on our list for three months. We went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the fall and the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, finally made it to the Bronx to the NYBG. This was almost an hour via subways and buses, and it was a very cold day that we set out on this adventure. We have noticed that the Bronx area of the city seems to be the least respected in terms of neighborhoods. The garden is definitely in a marginal area but has been in existence in this location for well over 100 years.
The Haupt Conservatory is the focal point. It consists of fourteen glass and iron buildings joined together creating over a dozen habitats for plant display and study. Our first stop was the annual train show in the conservatory. 
It consists of model trains that run through villages composed of hundreds of New York landmarks including such as the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Macy’s, New York Public Library, Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Plaza…..all constructed out of natural plant materials including bark, fungus, pods, acorns, shells, berries, lichen, stems and tendrils. Many of the structures were historic mansions along the Hudson River or in New York City, some of which have been torn down and no longer exist.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
LaGuardia
Metropolitan Museum
Yankee Stadium
The entire show takes up a couple of the conservatory domed rooms and it took well over an hour to visit the whole display. At various times one walks under specific bridges of Manhattan made from twigs and branches. This was truly an amazing thing to see.
Yankee Stadium
After the train show we took the tram tour around the gardens and were amazed at the many areas of research and observation. The library is said to be the best in the world for plant research and is a stunning building. We definitely want to come back here in another season……which means we will just have to return to NY some day!
We also had the time to explore some of the other rooms in the conservatory and especially loved the tropical habitats on such a cold winter’s day.
We took the subway home and got off at 59th Street so that we could walk down the avenues and see more of the Christmas store windows and decorations. The Bloomingdale windows were fun but the Bergdorf Goodman windows still win the prize. We walked into the Sony Building and visited Chartwell Booksellers, a small cozy bookstore devoted to literary works by and about Winston Churchill. 
We have been by this building many, many times and inside it four or five times, and, yet, we never knew this amazing store existed. It is just another example of how very many interesting things are going on in New York.
After dinner we took a brisk walk to Beekman Place to see the lighted outdoor tree on 50th street at the East River. Aglow in lights in the background was the Queensboro Bridge…..we love our neighborhood!
Matthew had been in Washington, DC for an education conference and took the train to Manhattan for a quick visit. He has been to NY a couple of times and was not interested in typical tourist sights but just walking in our neighborhood and visiting some of our favorites.
We recognized him as he got off the subway, although he looks a bit different that what we are used to.
Grow Your Mo ad
He has a mustache (“Grow your Mo”) as part of Movember, the month that is devoted to men’s health awareness. He started clean shaven on November 1 and intends to shave it off on Dec. 1. So far he has raised a couple hundred dollars towards his charity goal.
We started out with pastrami and turkey bagel sandwiches from Tal Bagels, our favorite bagel shop and right in our neighborhood. Next we took the subway to Soho and the boys shopped at Uniqlo, my new favorite store. Of course, it was a total zoo, but they persevered and each got a couple of sweaters and some new pants and jeans. From here we walked up to the NYU Greenwich Village area and dropped in at Bergino Baseball Clubhouse. This interesting little store features baseball memorabilia as well as unique baseballs. The owner and the guys had a great time talkin’ baseball, and he gave us each a sip of smooth bourbon in baseball shot glasses.
Dessert at Grano
We headed over to the West Village for dinner at Grano, our great find when the Hills and Stampers visited in October. Maurizio, the owner, was not there on this Saturday night, but his wife was just as warm, and we had a delicious dinner and fun time. She chatted with Matthew about how their twin daughters are schooled in New York, and they compared notes about education.
Cozy bar at Marlton Hotel in the village
Finally, we ended the night a few blocks away at the Marlton Hotel, an old classic that is being renovated. The owner of Bergino had recommended the bar, and we enjoyed espresso and after-dinner drinks in the cozy living room near the blazing fireplace. We braved the cold and wind to take the subway home and then all fell happily into bed.
Frick atrium
On Sunday we forged out into a cold and windy day and walked up to the Frick Museum on 70th and 5th Avenue, about 1.5 miles from our apartment. Henry Clay Frick was one of the moguls of NY around the turn of the century and made his fortune in steel. He was an industrialist, financier, and art patron. He was good friends with Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, but fell out with Carnegie who actually attempted to have Frick assassinated. Frick built the mansion in order to make Carnegie’s home look “like a shack.”
Frog fountain at the Frick
The entry to the museum is an enclosed atrium with fountains and plants that change with the seasons. Today it was a warm and welcoming respite from the blustery outdoors.
The Frick is home to a fabulous collection of old master European paintings and many are still hanging exactly where Frick had them hung originally in 1914. The first floor of this ornate estate exhibits works from Piero della Francesca, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Fragonard, Renoir, Monet, and Turner. It also includes sculptures, porcelains, Limoges enamel, and ornate 18th century French furniture. We wandered from room to room marveling at the furnishings and listening to the descriptions of art works on our audio guides.
The Frick was featuring an exhibit entitled “Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis” and we had timed tickets to view it. It consists of only 15 paintings, but each was exquisite and each had an audio narration. We learned a lot about the lives of the painters in the 16th century and also about each of the paintings. I particularly was interested in the small oil entitled “The Goldfinch” (by Carel Fabritius, 1654), as I am currently reading a novel by that name (by Donna Tartt) that includes a detail of the painting on the book jacket.
Ordering at Via Quadronno
We spent almost three hours at the Frick and had to leave as the museum was closing. We sprinted for about three blocks to Via Quadronno, an Italian restaurant that we had dined at in 2011 when visiting New York with Elizabeth and Mark for the first time. That adventure started our whole move to Manhattan, and it was only fitting that we ended our NY stay with one more visit. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Chianti and three different pastas, all wonderful. It brought back happy memories and did not disappoint!
Den at Via Quadronno
We popped on the subway home but the boys continued on past our stop to Soho to pick up their hemmed trousers and jeans. Arriving home around 8 pm, we all had time to watch the Broncos vs the Patriots…..but only for a while. Den fell asleep at half time, I made it to the final play of the fourth quarter when it was 31-31, and only Matthew survived overtime and a Bronco loss.
Lego logo constructed from Lego tiny figures
On Monday we went shopping at Rockefeller Center and had great success, especially at the Lego store and at the Metropolitan Museum store.
Lattes at Rockefeller Center skating rink
After making our purchases, we went downstairs to the café and enjoyed lattes and mochas while watching the ice skaters outside.
Saks Fifth Avenue
On the way home we enjoyed the holiday lights of 5th Avenue and then bid a farewell to Matthew. He was eager to get home to see his family as he had been gone a full week. We were delighted that we got to spend a few of our last NY days with him…….a very special time.
Oops….I forgot to talk about Monet’s water lilies in my last post re MOMA with Lynne and Hugh Brown.
The MOMA owns two triptychs of Monet’s water lilies. These are similar to those at L’Orangerie in Paris. Each is over 40 feet long.
Viewers are invited to sit on long benches in the gallery and contemplate the beauty and peacefulness of these paintings.
A single Monet painting is also on display that depicts a Japanese pond at Giverny. 
In 1955 the MOMA became the first museum in the United States to acquire a Monet water lily painting. As stated on the description in the gallery, “….since that time the water lilies have held a cherished position in the Museum, affirming Monet’s conviction that art can provide a balm for the modern soul.”
The Browns at Eataly
Lynne and Hugh Brown visited us from Denver in mid-November. They had just returned from a Habitat for Humanity build in Croatia as well as touring in eastern Europe and were eager to explore another large city.
We started our adventure with the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. Immigration to New York has its roots in this area. In the mid 1800’s as the population shifted northward, the Lower East Side became the primary settlement spot for the first wave of immigration from the Germans. Next came the European Jews around the turn of the century, and they were followed by the Italians in the 20s and 30s.
Owned since 1969 by the Perez family from the Dominican…..7 brothers & 4 sisters
Most recently, the area has been the home to Puerto Ricans and Dominican Repulicans who began to arrive in the 1960s. Today this area is undergoing gentrification and has become one of the “newer” popular places to relocate for New Yorkers.
The Tenement Museum takes small groups into 97 Orchard Street, an original tenement building whose history has been exclusively researched, and it recreates immigrant life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Each floor is devoted to a specific aspect of the times, and we chose the “Shop Life” tour. Our guide took us to the lower level which has been the home of an 1870s German beer saloon run by John and Caroline Schneider, kosher butcher shop at the turn of the century, general store in the 1930s of auctioneer Max Marcus, and the 1970s undergarment discounter store of Frances & Sidney Meda. Using interactive devices, we spent 90 minutes becoming educated about this fascinating home and the area.
Panade Bakery…home of the best cream puffs ever!
The museum also showed a 30 minute film on the history of immigration in the area. It was fascinating and featured some current residents whose roots are here. One of these, Yvette Ho, is of Chinese descent and grew up in Queens but spent most of her time in the area, as her parents wanted the better suburban home but also wanted their children raised in a Chinese environment. She returned to the area after college and now operates Panade Puffs and Pasteries, a shop where sandwiches and desserts are made with homemade cream puffs. We had chocolate banana and chocolate strawberry cream puffs for a mid-morning snack…..the best ever!
We then stopped next door at an art gallery featuring the contemporary works of Robert Indiana. He is best known as the Pop Art artist for his LOVE print in the 60s. He is still active well into his 80s.
We took the subway to the Flatirons area and explored Eataly, an indoor maze of all products/foods Italian. By this time it was after 2:00 pm and this huge area was packed with shoppers. We found bars stool seats and a table where we happily ate freshly-made Italian sandwiches and cold beers. Afterward we walked to the Grammercy Park area, another lovely residential area in the heart of the city.
We took the subway to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and joined the throngs of visitors on this early Friday evening. We started in the outdoor sculpture garden and then made our way indoors to view some masterpieces. We loved seeing the classic contemporary works of art in the exhibit entitled “From Hopper to O’Keefe” as well as exploring chronological galleries.
Hugh and Dennis in green sweaters contemplating this green untitled work by Blinky Palermo
I would have to say that the more contemporary the gallery, the more perplexed we became. As we all know, however, art is in the eye of the beholder!
A short walk took us to Canaletto, an Italian restaurant on E. 60th. We had delicious dinners accompanied by Chianti and the best breadsticks we have ever tasted. The waiter was happy to give us a “care package” of the breadsticks to take with us.
Another day we hiked along 1st Avenue southward and walked past the United Nations, Tudor City, the lobby of the Ford Foundation that contains dozens of full-size flourishing trees, Grand Central Station, and the Chrysler Building…..all favorite sites of ours. We visited the New York Public Library and were amazed again by the number of people actively using this historic and vibrant spot.
Genealogy room of NY Public Library
The Genealogy Room was of special interest to Lynne who was able to use the 1870s Iowa census to locate her paternal relatives. In a more recent census (from the turn of the century!) she was able to find her maternal grandmother listed as age 6 years. We ended our visit with a quick stop next to the library at Bryant Park which has now been transformed from a summer park into a winter wonderland complete with a skating rink and almost 100 temporary small shops for holiday shopping.
Our visit next was to Brooklyn where Lynne and Hugh were particularly interested in neighborhood life. At our previous visit to this borough, we spent so much time at the Brooklyn Museum that we ran out of time for exploration, so we were happy to return. We all loved Prospect Park, the heart of Brooklyn, and a park designed by Frederic Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in Manhattan. He considered Prospect Park his finest achievement. We hope to come back here some day and walk the entire park.
We strolled into Park Slope, a lovely neighborhood of brownstones adjacent to the park. These rows of stately homes were decorated for the season with gourds and pumpkins and cabbages and mums. The area seemed family friendly and a strong community. We felt that we could move in immediately!
We continued our walk along the shopping avenues of the area. One of our favorite shops was Goorin Brothers, a hat shop that has been in business since 1895. Den was delighted to find a Brooklyn Dodgers hat, an item he has been searching for since we arrived. He also had fun with the Heisenberg hat from Breaking Bad.
Our dinner was at Al Di La Wine Bar. The streets of Park Slope were full of people in the evening, just like Manhattan. We had hoped to eat at Al Di La Trattoria, but they had just seated the last open table when we arrived and sent us around the corner to their wine bar…..same staff, same kitchen, only a smaller space. We were a bit apprehensive but happy to have a table and later realized how fortunate we were as the wine bar soon was more than full. Yet, it was not loud, and we enjoyed a relaxing evening with good friends and good food. We had farro salad (roasted squash and cauliflower, spinach,hazelnuts, goat cheese, browned butter vinaigrette), kale salad, ravioli with roasted squash and tagliatelle with duck ragu sauce. Our Affogato dessert arrived in a soup tureen….vanilla ice cream with crushed almond pralines drowned in hot espresso. It was one of the best meals we have had and we will come back here…on our next trip to NY!
First Presbyterian Church
On Sunday we took the subway to Greenwich Village to go to church. Lynne and Hugh had enjoyed meeting the dean of an African American seminary who was recently speaking at Central in Denver. He mentioned two parish associates at First Presbyterian Church in New York and we were all eager to attend.
First we walked around the village enjoying the stately brownstones and apartment buildings of this historic area. Dennis and I had last been in this same neighborhood on Halloween for the parade, and we were especially pleased to recognize some familiar places in daylight this time.
First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1716 and was the first Presbyterian church in New York City. The congregation erected the structure in 1845 and it stands as a magnificent historical landmark. It has the appearance of a gothic cathedral much in the style of an Episcopal church and the historical marker refers to the fact that it was copied from two churches in England.
The church is surrounded by a sturdy wrought iron fence that was erected in 1844 and restored in 1981. It is one of the strongest and loveliest fences in the city.
The church service was impressive. The music was particularly outstanding with a large choir that joyfully sang praises accompanied by a magnificent pipe organ. Choir members included many older members (likely some are professors at nearby NYU) as well as many younger women and men. They entered through the center aisle and paused in the aisle to sing the first hymn before sitting in the choir loft behind the altar. During the sermon they came down to the first several pews to listen to the minister, who preached from an elevated lectern. The 30-40 children came forward at their time and sang Dona Nobis Pacem……in Latin…another example of the importance of their music ministry. The service itself included a re-dedication of the education wing, baptism, and the conclusion of the stewardship campaign. As we exited to Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary, Lynne and Hugh were pleased to be able to chat with one of the assistant ministers, Sarah McCaslin.
High Line
We all then walked to the Meatpacking District and Chelsea where we enjoyed a long walk on the High Line. The fall colors were spectacular and the paths were full of happy people enjoying this quiet respite in the heart of this district.
We took the subway home and the Browns left for Denver. We had a great time with them and know that they enjoyed adding New York to their list of fall travels.
Mike and Dori at Beekman Bar and Books
Mike and Dori arrived on Nov. 9. We had travelled with them to France in May and were excited to share our new home town adventure with them. They were here for four days and we spent our time laughing, talking, and walking (we averaged over 7 miles a day!).
Big Fish on Broadway
Central Park with Boathouse in background
We strolled in Central Park and enjoyed bloody Marys and mimosas sitting outside at the Boathouse.
We viewed Central Park in the fall from the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle.
We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, visited the 9/11 Memorial and St. Paul’s Chapel, the Battery, and all bought scarves at a street fair in the financial district near Bowling Green.
Brooklyn Bridge
Mike buying a scarf on Wall Street
We had dinner at Il Vagabondo, an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. We ended the evening there with a memorable bocce game on a court over 100 years old located right in the restaurant.
Bocce at Il Vagabondo
Bocce expert!
One day the weather turned cold so we spent several hours inside at the Metropolitan Museum of art. We saw many familiar works as well as some very contemporary art.
On the last night we dined at Becco, an Italian restaurant on Restaurant Row. Our table was on a glassed in porch overlooking the street and all the theater-goers.
We then walked a couple of blocks to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.
The lobby was glittering with a massive crystal chandelier and Christmas decorations.
Radio City Music Hall lobby
The theater holds almost 6000 people and is known for its acoustics. It felt like we had stepped right into the 1930’s. The show itself was a combination of songs and dancing threaded with a story line. The Rockettes performed many times and were everything we have all come to expect…..glittering costumes, chorus line kicks, and absolute precision. Also included in the show was a gigantic nativity scene complete with two live camels and six live sheep! It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We ended our final evening together with a nightcap at Beekman Bar and Books, a cozy bar just two blocks from our home. Book cases and books line the walls and Frank Sinatra sang in the background. We sat by the fireplace while the wind blew outside and enjoyed whiskeys together……we felt so New York!
Beekman Bar and Books
Beekman Bar and Books
We had been wanting to go back to Brooklyn after having walked across the Brooklyn Bridge one of our first weekends here. On a crisp and sunny Friday in early November we took the #2 subway from Manhattan and got off on Franklin Street in Brooklyn.
We first walked to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, known as one of the two premier botanic garden centers in NY (the other is in the Bronx and we have not yet visited it). We walked around the gardens outside for a hour or more enjoying this place of quiet and beauty amidst the hustle and energy of the borough. It is a lovely spot including acres and acres of trees and gardens.
We were amazed at all of the flowers still in bloom well into fall and almost winter: roses, asters, nasturtiums, and many flowering shrubs.
Liberty Oaks Memorial
At one end of the gardens are two nature memorials. One is a stand of scarlet oaks called the “Liberty Oaks” that commemorates 9/11 loss. Originally the first generation of trees planted here in 1918 were Norway maples to commemorate the armistice of WWI.
The other memorial is an intricate tree house constructed from over fourteen types of wood from trees felled at the gardens last year by Hurricane Sandy including black walnut, Chinese chestnut, and Norway maple.
Den in the tree house
It is amazing in its construction and strength and the public is invited to climb into it…..so we did!
A lovely lake is bordered by a path that has stepping stones commemorating hundreds of well known individuals (politically, theatrically, socially) who were “born or flourished in Brooklyn and whose talents and significant achievements enhance the Borough’s reputation. The Greatness of Brooklyn is its people.”
Orchids in a conservatory
There are various domed conservatories for different microclimates including both tropical and desert, but we did not spend much time in them because it was so beautiful outside.
We then had a casual lunch across the street at Lincoln Station and were then ready to spend a hour or so at the Brooklyn Museum. Our plan was to then go to Prospect Park and visit the neighborhood of Park Slope. However, as often happens with our plans, things did not work out that way.
We were amazed at the sheer beauty and magnitude of the Brooklyn Museum. We learned that it is the second largest museum in New York after the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
We first enjoyed the vast collection European paintings that are hung next to the great rotunda, the Beaux Arts Court, on the second floor. We saw Monet’s and van Gogh’s that we have never seen before. Another section was on Russian art at the turn of the century that we found fascinating.
Clouds Over Black Sea–Crimea, 1906
Dennis loves cloud paintings and was drawn to “Clouds Over Black Sea–Crimea” painted by Boris Anisfeld n 1906. He came to America in 1917 and within a year the Brooklyn Museum hosted his first one-man show.
The Road of War Prisoners
We were in awe of two paintings by Vasily Vereshchagin painted in 1878-9 which dramatically recalled the horrors he had witnessed a year or two earlier in winter during the Russo-Turkish war. Each was at least 4′ x 6′ in size.
A Resting Place of Prisoners
He painted contemporary themes, in contrast to most artists who were still painting classic subjects, in order to bring about social reform. The Czar rejected these works for his collection and they were eventually shown in America in 1891 and bought by New York collectors still reeling from the horrors of the Civil War.
During the time of our gallery visit, there was constant noise in the rotunda from workmen setting up for an upcoming social event. We chatted with them briefly and found out it was to be a Bat Mizvah celebration.
Beaux-Arts Court
As we watched them unload crate after crate of stemware, we commented that it would be quite a celebration. They quickly told us that we should have been with them last week when they prepped for a $15 million wedding at the Waldorf Astoria. It’s New York, New York!
The Egyptian galleries were extensive and beautiful. They had several coffins and mummies as well as jewelry and carvings reminiscent of the blockbuster exhibits we have seen in Denver.
We moved to the more contemporary sections and enjoyed Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party by walking around the banquet table a few times to try to absorb it all.
Emily Dickenson
This extensive work consists of a triangular table with 39 place settings commemorating significant mythological or historical women, many of whom had been lost to history until the feminist movement. This work of art celebrates the achievements of over 1000 women and was first shown in 1979.
Georgia O’Keefe
In the next room an African American veteran was presenting a lecture about war and stress as seen through the eyes of minority populations. Around the corner we visited some historical re-created living rooms and bedrooms, but the museum had allowed an artist, Valerie Hegarty, to introduce an alternative history into each room for social comment. In one plantation dining room from the Civil War period, the room had been transformed into a dinner of crows tearing at watermelon and destroying the table. This was supposed to be representative of the plight of the slaves. It was unsettling but yet one more example of the various types of art presented in this interesting museum.
Brooklyn Bridge by Samuel Halpert
Brooklyn Bridge by Georgia O’Keefe
The final floor houses the Luce Center for American Art which consists of 12-15 rooms highlighting various periods of American history from different styles and view points. The section on New York was particularly interesting and consisted of so many classic items that we ended up spending much of our time in this area. They also allowed visitors to enter the Visible Storage Study Center where all of the collection is housed and we were amazed by the glass cases and glass closets housing thousands and thousands of items and paintings not currently on display.
Our final exhibit was the most unusual: “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk.” This French designed is known as one who creates elaborate and bizarre haute couture for the very daring and the very wealthy, most of whom are in the entertainment business. He designed the clothes for Madonna for her recent tours. Much of his work is what we would call absolutely outlandish……which made it so much fun to view!
One of the fascinating parts of the exhibit was the use of animated mannequins. They were able to open and close their eyes, smile, and show their teeth. At times you were sure that one was following you as you walked about the room. It was a bit eerie and absolutely amazing. 
The exhibit was packed with visitors and will undoubtedly be a hit until it closes in late February. We were so happy to have seen it.
We ended the day on the first floor at a final special exhibit of war photos. It was a solemn viewing of the many aspects of war and it was especially poignant when an elderly veteran walked in using a cane and wearing his vets jacket and hat. He moved about the exhibit and we wondered what he was remembering.
We finally left the Brooklyn Museum as it was getting dark. It had been such a great day but we never got to Prospect Park or the Park Slope neighborhood as planned……we just ran out of time. We will save it for a return to Brooklyn another day.
We walked to the subway at the museum for our trip home. This station’s artwork reflected some of the classical statuary at the museum…..another unexpected happy surprise as we stepped below ground.
Live from New York 
